


Ever After

by Katrika



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairytalestuck, Gen, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-12
Updated: 2011-11-12
Packaged: 2017-10-26 00:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/276390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katrika/pseuds/Katrika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally awakening on a world torn apart by a great war and a mysterious curse, the Doomed Prince and Sleeping Princess of the dark kingdom must combine their powers to save the world - or die trying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ever After

Once upon a time, in a dark, quiet kingdom where the sun could not reach and the tainted moon was bound by chains, it came to pass that a prince and a princess were born. Though they seemed perfectly healthy, and in fact did not appear to need food or drink, the princess was locked in unwakeable slumber and the prince did not notice those around him, not even his own mother. Grieved by this, and greatly disturbed, the queen ordered them locked in two mighty towers, until the day when they joined society or died.

Years passed, and the populace forgot about the prince and princess, with even the queen writing them off as doomed. Even if the curse was broken, after all, they’d know nothing of the world, and would be mere babes clad in much older bodies. The queen had no way of knowing that as her children slept, they grew and learned in a strange dream-world, the prince a squire to a great knight and the princess learning the arts of slyness and magic from a famed sorceress.

As the princess and prince prospered and learned, the dark kingdom floundered. The queen had foolishly started a war with the bright kingdom from across the waters, unaware or uncaring that she was fated to lose. Moreover, her treacherous advisor was caught in the grip of a strange curse, and as the prince and princess reached their 13th year of life, his true colors were revealed. He struck at the queen and robbed her of life, putting on her magic ring of power once the deed was done. The instant the ring touched his finger, his sickness and insanity exploded outward, killing all who dwelled in her palace. Dark, demonic wings ripped free of his back, and his features twisted and warped until none could recognize him. The people despaired, for they thought that the end times had come, and their situation could not get any worse.

They thought wrong.

The once-advisor, now known as Jack-of-the-Darkness, was not yet done with his rampage. He flew to the bright kingdom and, striking the ground, caused the earth below to shake and the golden buildings to crumble and fall. The people of the dark kingdom rejoiced, for they thought the war was over, and Jack had come to save them. Jack scoffed at this notion, and made his way to the great battlefield, slaying soldiers from both kingdoms alike to sate his ever growing bloodlust. In desperation and despair, the young princess of the bright kingdom, herself a skilled enchantress, bound Jack-of-the-Darkness to her loyal familiar in an attempt to reign him in. The binding was a success, but did not accomplish what she’d hoped, for as Jack’s face rippled and took on the likeness of a starving jackel, he gained access to the tremendous power stored in the faithful familiar. All hope seemed lost.

It was to this crumbling world that the prince and princess awoke, but they did not despair and they did not fear. The prince by now was a great Knight, and likewise the princess had the skills and knowledge of a famed Seer. They met together in the tower of the Knight, and together they plotted. The Seer’s soothsaying had revealed that the only way to defeat Jack-of-the-Darkness was to destroy his source of power, and her communications with dark spirits had given her a map to it. The only problem was she could not reach it on her own, nor could anyone reach the Spark of Power without dying. The only way to get to the Spark of Power was to ride the bound moon, carrying the Seed of Destruction to the Spark of Power. The Knight and Seer agreed to set aside that issue for the moment, and focus on obtaining the Seed of Destruction.

It was revealed that the Witch from the bright kingdom had a brother, an Heir who held mastery over all the winds and breezes of the world. The Seer, the Knight, the Witch, and the Heir vowed to set aside their differences and work together to defeat Jack-of-the-Darkness and save the entire world. The Heir went to the ravanged battlefield to search for the Seed of Destruction, and discovered to his shock and horror that it was nested in the center of the world. Carefully he worked, and delicately, to use the winds to gouge and dig a path to the heart of the world without breaking the world to pieces. It was difficult, tiring work, and many times he toyed with the idea of stopping and giving up, only to keep going once he saw the rivers of blood let loose by Jack-of-the-Darkness. Finally, after many days and nights, he carried the Seed of Destruction cushioned in the winds to the bound moon.

Unable to put it off any further, the Knight and the Seer argued deep into the night over who would ride the bound moon to the Spark of Power and sacrifice their life, each wanting to take the burden away from their beloved sibling. Finally, in a fit of frusteration, the Seer agreed to let the Knight take the journey, if only he cut the moon’s chain himself. The Knight agreed, but the instant he cleaved the chain, the Seer cast a spell on him, and the Knight fell asleep as the Seer rode off to her doom.

As the Knight awoke, he saw that the moon was almost out of sight, and raged. Tapping into a power bourne of premature grief and loss, he flew after her, managing to reach the unbound moon right before it crossed the point of no return. The Seer was saddened to see him, but could do nothing to return him to the dark kingdom, and together they waited for their deaths.

After a time, the unbound moon was bathed in the green light of the Spark of Power, and the Knight and the Seer got to work. As they pushed the Seed of Destruction ahead of them, the Knight saw a place prepared for them, and knew in that instant the dark spirits had decieved the Seer. He gripped the Seer’s hand tightly as the Seed of Destruction nestled in place, unable to do anything else. The Seer and the Knight could only watch as the Seed cracked open, and darkness flowed out to choke out the light, taking all they had known with it.

When their vision returned, the Knight and the Seer saw that they had failed, for while the Seed was the Seed of Destruction, it was also the Seed of Power, and a new Spark of Power roiled and danced beneath their feet. The Seer and the Knight looked at each other in horror and bewilderment, for in the forge of creation they had been made anew like gods, immortal and powerful. Finally, the Knight spoke, suggesting that while in their haste they had destroyed two worlds, perhaps they could use their new power to save others, and so to this day the Knight and Seer wander the worlds in search of those in need, hoping one day to obtain forgiveness and death.

They lived ever after.


End file.
